36 seconds.

While the timespan is short, in football, a game of clever coordination and tight timing, every moment matters. As the clock ticked down the final moments of the first half during the 2022 Homecoming game against Delta Charter and the team made a seemingly impossible touchdown, 36 seconds gained a special importance; as the first half ended, Rohan Gorti (’23) remembers turning to see a 23 point lead on the scoreboard and thinking, “We can close this out.” 

That night, the Harker football team won its first homecoming game since 2018. The game also marked Rohan’s first homecoming win on the upper school football team. He first played football in his sophomore year, inspired by his love for the San Francisco 49ers growing up and experiences with flag football through the lower and middle school.

“COVID hit, and everything got taken away, and I realized you only have so many years,” Rohan said. “I wanted to be active, and I wanted to do something that I liked and challenged me — something that pushed me to work hard.”

Throughout his sophomore year, Rohan’s desire to become a better player led him to push himself to improve, whether it meant going to the gym everyday or frequenting the weight room weeks after the season had ended. Close friend and football teammate Dylan Parikh (’23) recalls Rohan’s immense determination when training for the upcoming season. 

“During the summer league we were playing a team, [and] Rohan got sick the day of or the day before so he wasn’t able to participate,” Dylan said. “But he still came. In that game, he dominated every possession and would score, and that’s a real testament to his effort and hard work, no matter the circumstances.”

When Rohan returned to school his junior year, he started as a quarterback for the team, a result of his grit the year before. A loss in the homecoming game pushed Rohan to dedicate even more time and training into the sport.

“I had my first homecoming my junior year, and I’d never felt more nervous in my life, and I played terribly,” Rohan said. “Then they beat us, and that really hurt. That was motivating me to really work hard for the senior season. Winning homecoming this year, having a successful season, breaking three Harker records, and bringing that back to the school just made my day.”

His persistence and drive to aid the team, whether it be by recruiting players or putting his utmost effort into his role as quarterback also translated in Rohan’s academic life, where he pursued work in the business program. This passion for his work struck upper school football coach and Business and Entrepreneurship Director Juston Glass. 

“Rohan has the work ethic and the desire to make great things happen,” Glass said. “There’s times where I know he was injured, but he popped right back up and he pushed through it because he knew what his team needed. He’s a student that is a once-in-a-generation type guy. It’s hard to come by those students with that drive, that care, and that charisma.”

In the business program, Rohan explored starting his own company through the Honors Entrepreneurship: Startup Incubator I course with Arin Jain (’23) and Zubin Khera (’23). The trio created TuffToy, a company designing durable dog toys to break through the saturated pet toy market. Rohan, in particular, was inspired by his time with his dog Dash, who would always rip his dog toys. 

“In entrepreneurship, I had an opportunity to solve a problem that I faced, and it was near and dear to my heart because I loved Dash — I grew up with him, and I really just enjoyed running TuffToy,” Rohan said. “Running a business is like football because you really just get what you put in.”

To understand the viability of the concept, Rohan also worked to create toys on his own after learning sewing from his aunt and using materials from Amazon for distribution. As the company found a manufacturer, they worked to package the prototypes by hand in their home kitchens, including personalized notes and dropping the toys off at homes around the Bay Area. Arin, a friend of Rohan since kindergarten and co-founder of TuffToy, admires Rohan’s passion for the company’s work.

“We were prepping for this big competition in Chicago in July, and in June, Rohan stepped up a lot,” Arin said. “Every day he would drive to my house for 30 minutes, [and] 30 minutes back, and we would work for hours during the day on packaging and marketing. I’m really proud of him for having that determination for a long period of time.”

Through TuffToy, Rohan found success in the 2022 INCubatoredu National Pitch Competition in Chicago, which allowed the team to win first prize and a $20,000 grant. Despite facing doubts about the simplicity of a dog toy company surrounded by technological innovations, Rohan, along with his teammates, found the benefits of knowing their market and building a company with a clear goal. 

“The polyester fiber that is used in common dog toys is pretty bad for dogs, and I like to think that I’m making a difference to some family if their dog is instead using a TuffToy,” Rohan said. “My only thing is I just wish Dash would’ve gotten to play with a TuffToy. I just hope that [TuffToy] can help create a special bond between someone and their dog.”

Whether it be persistence with football or TuffToy or dedicating his work to his dog, Rohan finds that what was key for him was doing what he loved. Taking a step towards his passions, even if it meant leaving soccer to try something new or creating dog toys in a technology-dominated environment, led him to find a value to his time.

“Even though high school can be daunting at Harker, don’t be afraid, and go out and do what you want to do.” Rohan said. “I was scared to try things at first: I didn’t try out for the DECA leadership team, I didn’t play football, and I didn’t hang out with the people that I wanted to hang out with. There’s a lot of things that I didn’t do because I was scared, and it took a pandemic for that to change for me. Don’t make that mistake. If you fall down, you’ll be able to get yourself back up.”